Mechanical movement



y 16, 1933- w. HARPER, JR., ET AL 1,909,271

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed March 20, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l INV N 2WILLIAM 55353 JR.

E AERY B. KEREKE'S ATTORNEY May 16, 1933. w. HARPER, JR., ET AL-1,909,271

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed March 20, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 ERY B.KEREKES '1 INVENTORS IL- WILLIAM HARPER, JR.

(7 ATTORNEY y 1933. w. HARPER, JR., ET AL 1,909,271

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed March 20, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY y 16,1933- w. HARPER. JR., Er- AL 1,909,271

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Filed March 20, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4WILLIAMINMERIEEQSJR. EwRY B. KEREKE'S ATTORNEY,

Patented May 16, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM HARPER, .13.,OF

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

PORT WASHINGTON,

OIE PATTERSON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO AM CORPORATION OF DELAWARE NEWYORK, AND EMERY MECHANICAL MOVEMENT Application filed March 20, 1931.Serial No. 524,102.

numerous other situations.

The invention will be described in connection with its application to arotary cylinder combustion engine of the type disclosed in a pendingapplication of William Harper J r., Serial No. 422,041, filed J anuary20, 1930, in which tangentially or radially arranged revolving cylindersare attached to a hollow shaft containing inlet, exhaust and ignitionpassages controlled by a rotary valve which is rotated in timed relationto the cylinders.

In the engine referred to, the cylinder pistons are carried by areaction member which rotates about a center offset from that of thecylinder rotor and must be rotatedat the same speed as the rotor inorder to maintain a true balance. In the Harper appli: cation, this isaccomplished by providing the rotor and the reaction member withseparate gears which are connected by aoounter-gear at the intersectionof their pitch diameters.

In applying the present invention to an engine of this type, we rotate.the cylinder rotor. and the piston reaction mlember in the same phase bymeans of one or more rotary connecting members or, yokes arranged torotate about a third center preferably midway between the centers of therotor and reaction member. This yokerotates in a plane parallel to theplanes of the rotor and reaction member and is connected to said membersby means of sliding bearings which are preferably equidistant from the,center of the yoke.

. The sliding bearings may consist of pins mounted on the yoke andengaged in slots in the rotor and the reaction member. the preferredform of the invention, however, these pins are mounted on the rotor andthe reaction member and work in slots in the yoke so that their pointsof contact with the yoke will always lie plane parallel to the planes ofB. KEREKES,

ERICAN GAS TURBINE CORPORATION,

in a common I the rotor and reaction member and there can be nocomponent tending to cause the yoke to bind on its bearing surface.

These as well as other features and advantages of the invention will bedescribed in connection with accompany in which:

ing drawings,

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a rotary cylinderinternal combustion engine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of tions of the rotor,yoke Fig. 1 showing the relative posiand piston reaction member forrotation about separate offset centers Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the mounting of the parts for rotation about thethree separate centers;

Fig. 5 is a section on the lin e 5-5 of Fig.

1 showing the sliding pin connection between the yoke and cylinderrotor;

Fig. 6 is a similar section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 showing theconnection between the yoke and the reaction member;

Figs. 7 to 10,

sections similar inclusive, are transverse to Fig. 3, but on a muchsmaller scale, showing the relative positions of the rotatmg parts atdifferent points" in the cycle;

similar to' Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical section Fig. 1, butshowing a modified form of yoke, or connecting member; 7

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectionfon the line 12-12, of Fig. 11; and sFig; 13 is a detail section preferred ball-bearing mounting The engineshown in Figs.

showing the of the yoke. land 2 comprises a base casing 1 having aremovable top 2; and removable end casing 3, provided and 5 whichsupport The inner ends of provided with flanges 8 which are fixed to andThe cylinders the rotor casting are preferentric to their center ofrotation, though they may be radial. Hence the main shafts 6 and 7,their flanges 8 and 9, and the rotor casting 10 containing cylinders 11turn as a unit, rotation being in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2.

The pistons 12 are connected through wrist pins 13 and connecting links1% to an outer U-shaped carrying ring or reaction member 15, so calledbecause it takes the re action of the pistons, which ring or reactionmember has its axis offset from the axis of the rotor casting 10. Thering 15 is held in its true rotating plane by means of pressed steelcheek discs 16 and 17 supported on bearings 18 and 19,respectively,anddriven in a manner hereinafter described. The cheek discs 16 and 17enclose the rotor and are locked to the flanges of the ring 15 by meansof bolts and nuts 21, to which bolts the piston links 14 are fulcrumed.

The construction and operation of the water cooling system, rotaryvalve, ignition, etc. are fully described in the Harper applicationreferred to above and will not be repeated here except in so far as isnecessary to a complete understanding of the present invention. Thecombined centrifugal and force water circulating system includes a wateracket space 23 cored in the rotor casting 10, and a special constructionof the main shaft 7 to provide water inlet and outlet channels 24 and25, respectively.

The tapered valve 26 contains inlet, exhaust and ignition ports adaptedto register with ports 27 in the valve bushing 28 which is keyed to themain shaft. The valve 26 is driven by the gear 29 which is keyed to theshaft 6, through idler gears 30 and 31 on shaft 32, to the outside valvegear 33 which is loose or rotatable on the valve sleeve 34. By referringto the above-nientioned Harper application it will be seen that thevalve gear 33 has a set of internal splinc-like projections or teethwhich mesh with corre sponding projections on the valve sleeve 34 todrive the valve and to automatically unseat the valve in response to anyincrease in its driving torque.

The shaft gear 29 meshes with hand-crank gear 36 which is keyed to crankshaft 37 supported in bearings 38, for starting the engine by hand.Power is conveyed from the main shaft 7 through its gear 39 to the gear40 on shaft 41. I

Coming'now to the present invention, it will be evident that thecylinder rotor 10, and the piston reaction member comprising ring 15 andcheek discs 16 and 17, rotate in parallel planes about separate offsetcenters. In other words, since the cylinder rotor is attached to themain shaft 67, the main shaft and the reaction member rotate aboutseparate offset centers. In Figs. 3 and 4 the center of the shaft andcylinder rotor is indicated. at w, and the center of the piston reactionmember is indicated at 3 The connecting members or yokes 13 are arrangedto rotate in planes parallel to the planes of the rotor and reactionmember, but about a third center 2 which is midway between the centers00 and y as shown in Figs. 3 and 4:. The connecting members or yokes 43are thus rotatably mounted on opposite sides of the rotor 10 adjacentand inside the respective cheek discs 16 and 17.

The mounting of the connecting members or yokes 43 is best shown inFigs. 1 and 4; from which it will be seen that these yokes, as well asthe main shaft 67 and the cheek discs 16 and 17, are rotatably mountedon bearing blocks or collars 4 1 which surround the main shaft and aresecured to the casing 1 by means of screws 15. These collars are cast ormachined in one piece and have three cylindrical bearing surfaces t6, t7and 4&3 whose centers correspond respectively with the centers at, y and2 of the shaft, reaction member and yokes. The internal bearing surfaces46 of the respective collars contain the shaft bearings 4c and 5, whilethe external bearing surfaces 4L7 support the cheek disc bearings 18 and19, and the external bearbearing surfaces 13 support the bearings -19 ofthe respective yokes 43.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 10 the yokes 43 each have an inwardlyprojecting pin 51 on one side and an outwardly projecting pin 52on theother side, the former engaging in slots 53 on opposite sides of therotor 10 and the later engaging in slots 54 in the respective cheekdiscs 16 andj17. The pins are adjacent opposite ends of the respectiveyokes 43 and are equidistant from the center 2 about which the yokesrevolve.

In order to provide a snug running fit between the pins and slots, andto compensate for wear, the free ends of the pins are swiveled torectangular bearings 55 which are in runing contact with the linings 56of the respective slots 53 and 54. The bearings 55 and linings 56 aretapered in complementary fashion, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and springs57 of any suitable type are arranged to press lightly upon the bearings55 M so as to keep them seated snugly in the slot linings 56and thuscompensate for wear.

In order to properly center the yokes 43 on their bearing surfaces 48 weprovide annular plates or discs 58 which are secured to the yokes bymeans of screws 59 andproject over the inner edges of the bearingsurfaces 48 as shown in Fig. '1. On their'opposite sides the yokes areprevented from creeping along the main shaft by the cheek disc bearingsl8 and 19.

Since the pins 51 and 52 are equidistant from the center 2 about whichthe yokes 43 revolve it is, of course, self-evident that these pins willremain the same distance from the center 2 in all positions of theyokes. Now, since the center 2 of each yoke is midway between the center00 of the main shaft and rotor, and the center y of the reaction member,it is evident that at all points in the cycle the distance between pin51 (engaging the rotor) and the center a of the main shaft and rotorwill always be the same as the distance between pin 52 (engaging thereaction member) and the center y of the reaction member. This isclearly illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10 showing the complete cycle. Itfollows from this that the driving torque between the cylinder rotor andthe piston reaction member will be constant so that a perfect balance ismaintained.

In the modification shown in Figs. 11 and 12 we providepins 61 and 62 onthe cylinder rotor and the cheek discs, respectively, engaging in slots63 and 64 in the connecting member or yoke 43. The pins 61 and 62 areequidistant from the center 2 of the yoke 43, and it is evident that thepoints of contact of these pins with the slots 63 and 64 will alwayslie. in a plane parallel to the planes in which the rotor and cheekdiscs revolve. The construct-ion and operation are otherwise the same aspreviously described and need not be repeated here.

In either form of the invention we prefer to employ ball bearings forall the rotating parts, similar to the shaft bearings 4 and 5 in Fig. 1.In Fig. 13, for example,

the cheek discs are supported on ball bearings 19, and the yoke 43 issupported on ball bearings 65. Oil ducts 66 are provided to lubricatethe several bearing surfaces as best shown in Fig. 1.

It will be evident that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction herein shown and described without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. The combination with a driving member and a driven member rotatablein parallel planes about separate offset centers, of a yoke rotatable ina plane parallel to said members about a center midway between thecenters of said members, and pinsin said members equidistant fromthecenter of the yoke and slidable in the yoke to couple the partstogether.

2. The combination with a driving member and adriven member rotatable inparallel planes about separate offset centers, of a yoke rotatable in aplane parallel to said members about a center midway between the centersof said members, and pins in said yoke slidable in said members tocouple them together.

3. The combination with a driving member and a driven member rotatablein parallel planes about separate offset centers, of a yoke rotatable ina plane parallel to said 7 carrying member.

members about a center midway between the centers ofsaid members, a1 1dpins in said yoke equidistant from thecenter thereof and slidable insaid members to couple them to;

gether. p p I 4. Th combination with a driving memb r a a d ivenmemberotatabl 1139 1- allel planes about separate offset centers, of a yoke.intermediateand parallel to said members androtatable about a center.midway: between the centers thereof, anc l slid able bearings connectingthefyoke to said members at 1 oints equidistant from tliecent ro theyore. v '5. A combustion engine comprising r0 tor 7 containing aplurality "of cylinders, pistons in said cyl nclersa p st n r y ngmember rotatable about a center offsetffrom that of the rotor, a yokerotatable about a center offset from the centersoftherotor and, pistoncarrying member, and .means connecting said yoke to the rotor and pistoncarrying member.-

6. A combustion engine comprising a rotor containing; a plurality ofcylinders,

pistons in said cylinders, .a piston carrying" member rotatable about acenter. offset from that of the rotor, a yoke rotatable about a centermidway betweenthe centers ofthe rotor and piston carrying members, andslidable bearings connecting. the yoke to the rotor and piston carryingmember. i.

7 A combustionengine comprising a rotor containing a plurality ofcylinders, pistons in said cylindcrs,a piston carrying member rotatablein a plane parallel to-the rotor about acenteroffset from that of therotor, a yoke rotatable in a planeparallel to the rotor and pistoncarrying member abouta center midway between the. centers of saidmembers, and slidable bearings connecting the yoke to the rotor andpiston 8. A combustion engine comprising a rotor containing a pluralityof cylinders, pistons in said cylinders, a piston carrying memberrotatable in a plane. parallel to the rotor about a center offset fromthat of the rotor, a yoke rotatable in a plane parallel to the rotor andpiston carrying member about a center midway between the centers of saidmembers, and slidable bearings connecting the yoke to the rotor andpiston carrying member'at points equidistant from the center of theyoke.

9. A combustion engine comprising a rotor containing a plurality ofcylinders, pistons in said cylinders, a piston carrying membersubstantially enclosing the rotor and rotatable about a center offsetfrom that of the rotor, a yoke between the rotor and piston carryingmember rotatable about acenter midway between the centers of said mem--bers, and means connecting said yoke to said rotor and said pistoncarrying member.

10. A combustion engine comprising a rotor containing a plurality ofcylinders, pistons in said cylinders, a piston carrying membersubstantially enclosing the rotor and rotatable in a plane parallel tothe rotor about a center offset from that of the rotor, a yoke betweenthe rotor and piston carrying member rotatable about a center midwaybetween the centers of said members, and pins 011 said rotor and pistoncarrying member engaging said yoke at points within a common planeparallel to the planes in which the aforesaid members rotate.

11. A combustion engine comprising a rotor containing a plurality ofcylinders, pistons in said cylinders, a piston carrying member rotatableabout a center offset from that of the rotor, a yoke rotatable about acenter ofiset'from the centers of the rotor and piston carrying member,tapered bearings on said yoke engaging in tapered slots in the rotor andpiston carrying member, and springs acting on said hearings to seat themin said slots.

12. A combustion engine comprising a r0.-

tor containinga plurality of cylinders, pistons in said cylinders, apiston carrying member rotatable about a center offset from that of therotor, a yoke rotatable about a center offset from the centers of therotor and piston carrying member, tapered bearings on said rotor andpiston carrying member engaging in tapered slots in theyoke, and springsacting on said bearings to seat them in said slots.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of New York,this 19th day of March, 1931.

WILLIAM HARPER JR.

Signed at Paterson, in the country of Passaic, and State of New Jersey,this 17th day of March, 1931.

EMERY B. KEREKES.

